


see the light

by scattered_dream



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Comfort, Fluff, Implied Axel/Roxas (Kingdom Hearts), Kingdom Hearts III Spoilers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-03
Updated: 2019-06-03
Packaged: 2020-04-07 01:34:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19074790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scattered_dream/pseuds/scattered_dream
Summary: Sora is finally back on Destiny Islands with Riku, but he is plagued with nightmares that reflect the darker parts of his journey. Luckily, his best friend is always there to get him through the night.





	see the light

"Sora..."  _A muted voice, as if somehow speaking from underwater. Sora shook his head, trying in vain to clear the fog surrounding the voice._

_He turned around, wildly searching for the person who spoke to him._

_"Sora!" This was a different voice, quite familiar but not as comforting as the other. Perhaps that was because their voice sounded distressed; it was clear they were in some sort of danger._

_Sora gripped his Keyblade in hand, turning around and peering into the distance, in the direction of where the voice had come from. It was only then that he realized he was in the Keyblade Graveyard. He ran as fast as he could, trailing dust behind him as his shoes skidded across sand in his effort to get to the figure he spotted, hunched over and clutching at his middle._

_As he approached, it was much easier to tell who it was - the unmistakable red hair and tall form, even as he had curled in on himself, grimacing in pain. Of course he knew that voice._

_Sora's feet carried him right up to Lea, and as he fought to catch his breath, he watched his friend fall to his knees, almost in slow motion._

_Just when Sora was about to ask him how badly he was hurt and who did this to him, Lea spoke lowly - "I'm sorry" - regret oozing through the couple of words._

_Sora glanced around desperately, hoping someone else was around who could help him. What was going on?_

_"What's happening to you?" Sora asked, his voice wavering as his worry made itself known. He had just noticed several tendrils of darkness wrapping themselves around Lea, tugging at his body, and a large purple void that glowed behind him that seemed to be slowly sucking him in._

_"You're... fading away." Right before Sora's eyes, Lea's body broke apart into smaller, smokey fragments of his essence, twirling around in the air before dissipating as if they'd never been there in the first place._

_Sora reached out to tug him back, but Lea only peered up from the ground to stare at his outstretched hand, as if taking note that Sora was trying to save him, though he knew there was nothing that could be done anymore. It was too late._

_"Tell Roxas... I'm sorry," his voice broke, and Sora could feel his heart clenching unpleasantly in his chest at the resignation in his tone. "He should know."_

_Sora had never heard such raw pain straining someone's vocal cords before. It was quite unnerving; Lea was usually the one who kept it together and continued on with a bright grin even in circumstances that seemed less than favourable for their group to get through._

_"You're... giving up?" Sora asked, tears welling up in his eyes as his friend finally pulled his gaze up to look at Sora. His acidic green eyes pooled with tears, threatening to overflow, his expression so full of agony that served as a sharp reminder that he had regained his heart._

_An empty, bitter laugh escaped Lea's lips as his gaze dropped down to the ground once more - though whether this was in shame or sorrow, Sora couldn't tell._

_His body continued to break apart, wisps of purple and black surrounding him as the void slowly overtook him. Sora shook his hand in front of Lea's face again, trying to get him to grab it - this was his last chance to reach out and accept Sora's help; soon it would be too late!_

_"Lea..." Sora spoke quietly, not knowing what to say to convince him not to give up on fighting the darkness that pulled at him as if he were bound by rope._

_"Tell Roxas I - " he swallowed as his lip wobbled. Sora's eyes widened as he quickly pieced everything together._

_He knelt down in front of his friend, pleading with him - "You can tell him that yourself! You have to fight this, come on!" His voice was desperate as he reached out for Lea, but the new keyblade wielder shook his head, allowing the last bits of his body to drift away, scraps of his being fading along with the dark void that had sealed itself just beyond where he had been kneeling on the sandy ground, taking the fragments of Lea's essence with it._

_"Axel!" a strangled cry rang out through the Keyblade Graveyard. And though the name had tumbled out of Sora's mouth, the voice that echoed was not his own._

"Sora," came a quiet, steady voice - the one that belonged to the person who had called out for him moments ago, before Lea had. 

The Keyblade Graveyard faded away before Sora's eyes, replaced by foggy nothingness before a warm hand covered his shoulder, shaking him firmly awake.

His eyes opened in a flash of new awareness of his real surroundings - his bedroom, covered by blue walls and white curtains that fluttered gently as the breeze from the open window brushed against them. 

He became aware of his own shaky inhales and exhales, the sweat that had gathered on his forehead, chest, and upper lip, the soft pajama pants he wore moving against the lightest sheet that covered him only up to his waist. 

Sora blinked a few times, rubbing at his eyes and shaking his head, sitting up in bed to collect himself. A presence to the left of his bed made itself known to him as the person let out a small huff of laughter. As Sora turned to face him, his heart rate took a few strange leaps before settling down immensely, now a more relieved thudding against his ribcage. 

Looking at Riku - properly taking in his soft smile that Sora felt honoured to see, let alone know that it was reserved for him and him alone - always seemed to produce that sort of paradoxical effect on him. It was as though his heart couldn't decide whether to beat wildly as though he'd been running for a long stretch, or to calm down, to relax and soak in the presence of his best friend. 

Riku had been a part of Sora's life for as long as he could remember, and ever since the fateful day they had become friends, being around Riku had always made Sora feel safe, warm, comfortable... completely at ease. 

The further his _crush_  on Riku developed, however, the more trouble his heart had making a choice - speed up because _Riku, you're here..._ _I love you_ , or slow down because _Riku, you're here... I love you._

His best friend was sitting on the edge of his bed, looking down at him with a carefully collected expression upon his delicate features. They weren't touching, but now that Sora started to make sense of everything that had transpired in the past few minutes, he realized it must have been Riku who had shaken him awake, _Riku_ whose soothing voice was easy to distinguish from Lea's, whether or not his calls were part of the dream or not. 

"Why... are you laughing at me?" Sora asked, clearing away the sleep from his voice with an awkward cough or two. 

Riku smirked. "The way your eyes snapped open like that... and then you just looked around like you had no idea what was going on... I don't know," he shook his head dismissively and reached for a glass of water on Sora's bedside stand, handing it to him expectantly. "It was cute," he murmured as Sora drank eagerly. 

Before Sora could even think of a dignified reply to a comment such as _that,_ Riku continued speaking softly - "Must have been a pretty bad dream, huh?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck. 

Sora flinched as the scene in the Keyblade Graveyard played in his head once more, almost as though he were replaying a memory in his head. It certainly had _felt_ very real. 

"Lea was ... _fading_ ," Sora replied softly, choosing his wording carefully. He wasn't sure if Lea had been dying when he faded into the ominous void that stood behind him, its portal similar to that of the Organization's dark doorways they used to travel between worlds. 

Riku hummed, waiting patiently for Sora to continue. When he finished telling the short story of his dream, he took another sip of water before setting the glass down on his bedside table again. 

"At the end, though... someone called out for him, _through_ me." He gave Riku a significant look. 

His best friend appeared puzzled for a moment before realization dawned on his face and he nodded slowly. "Roxas," he muttered under his breath. 

"Roxas," Sora agreed. "It _must_ have been him. Lea never got to see him again," he continued, embarrassed when tears welled behind his eyelids again, the wetness trailing down his cheeks as he pulled the sheet further up over his body and sunk back into his bed, resting his head on his squishy pillow. 

"They’re together now, Sora," Riku said, leaning forward and placing a hand on top of Sora's that was laying on top of his sheets. "Remember? They said they were going to Twilight Town. That must be where they are now," he reminded him gently, hoping he could help Sora remember the _reality_ of what went down, rather than the haunting, alternative version of events from his nightmare. 

"They’re together," Sora repeated, slowly processing. After all Roxas and Lea had been through, this dream _terrified_ him. It painted a vivid picture of what could have gone down in the Keyblade Graveyard, and though Sora knew it wasn’t true, the clenching in his stomach made it feel as though it really _had_ happened. 

"Sor... look at me." 

Sora's facial muscles hurt from frowning, so he tried his hardest to relax again. When he met Riku’s calm aquamarine eyes, he instantly felt so much better. And there was that small smile on his best friend’s face...  Riku didn’t show it very often, and yet Sora had been lucky enough to witness it more than once tonight. 

He couldn’t help but smile back brightly. 

"Roxas and Lea are together again. With Xion, too. They’re all in Twilight Town," Riku reminded him again, tone gentle as he brushed his thumb against Sora's hand, removing it when Sora's eyes dropped down to watch the movement. 

He averted his eyes and swallowed thickly. "If you need anything, call me, okay?" Riku murmured, standing up and backing away from Sora's bed, knowing he should leave now or else he'd never be able to.   


"Okay," Sora whispered, biting his lip and feeling a flush creep up his neck as he too avoided Riku's gaze. "Thanks, 'Ku," he added sincerely, closing his eyes. He smiled to himself when he heard Riku clear his throat somewhat awkwardly. 

"'Course," Riku replied, exiting his bedroom only after he received confirmation that Sora was sleeping again. The tiny snores his best friend emitted made it clear that he had indeed fallen asleep once more, and Riku sent out a silent prayer that Sora remained at peace until he awoke in the morning. 


End file.
